This invention relates to ground covers and mulches. More particularly it relates to ground covers and mulches made of synthetic and, preferably, recycled materials. Hereinafter the term mulch shall be used to denote both a mulch and a ground cover.
Most mulches are made from wood chips, small chunks of bark, shredded wood and/or sawdust which are processed from trees, i.e. natural wood materials. Mulch helps retain moisture in the soil and adds aesthetic appeal to the ground.
One of the problems associated with the use of natural materials as mulch is the considerable expense associated therewith. In general, natural mulches are relatively heavy articles and are readily available only in certain parts of the country. Transportation costs from a wooded region to the places of use can be high. Furthermore, in that these materials are naturally occurring, the environment is affected when the trees which are the raw material for the mulch are cut.
At the same time, in every geographic region of the country enormous quantities of post-consumer plastics are being disposed of in landfills and are becoming a nightmare for waste management personnel. These post-consumer plastics include PET bottles, PET containers, nylons, PE trash bags, and other plastic articles.
With the high expense of natural mulches and the ready availability of post-consumer plastics, Earth Trends, Inc., assignee of this application, has proposed the manufacture of artificial pine needles utilizing post-consumer plastics as a primary feedstock. The use of an artificial pine needle used as a mulch is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,166 issued Aug. 8, 1989 and assigned to Earth Trends, Inc. While the synthetic pine needle is a great stride toward providing a needed product made from post-consumer plastics, the pine needle represents only one of many types of mulches.
There have been other attempts to utilize synthetic mulches. One such attempt is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,726 issued to Fawcett et al. The Fawcett patent utilizes a mulch made of aluminum flakes bonded to a woven mesh so that the flakes will reflect the rays of the sun upwardly and will hold moisture in the ground.
Another attempt is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,555,728 issued to Herns. The Herns patent shows a mulch made of an elongated sheet of flexible waterproof material having pockets spaced along the sheet. Old newspapers and the like are inserted into the pockets.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,340 issued to Pluenneke describes a growing pot which is lined with loose reclaimed used tire fibers.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,673,134 issued to Anderson shows a plastic film which may be used as an agricultural mulch.